The cat ears incident
by Dead Raen
Summary: Lightning's on leave while GC's Internal Affairs investigates one of her shootings. A lazy morning turns into something else.


Written on a whim. Inspired by a cosplay image of Lightning in a similar situation by xwickedgames on deviantArt. I'd link you, but FF doesn't like links, so. Takes place before the events of XIII and its subsequent releases.

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Wisps of steam rose from the mug, flowing over her chin. The air warmed her forehead, momentarily being slowed by loose strands of her platinum-pink hair. The coffee swirled around as the young woman absently rotated the mug, causing the white film floating on top from the sugar she'd added to spiral.

"...and a warm front coming in from the west so expect some showers developing into thunderstorms starting around nine. Temperatures are mild with a low at 53 and highs reaching 71 degrees. Expect these conditions to continue for the next few days as this warm air passes Bodhum so the sun'll be disappearing for a while..."

Lightning watched the morning news from her sofa, sitting on the right side and letting her elbow sink into the dark brown plush leather arm, bare legs draped loosely off to the left side. She slowly brought the coffee mug up to her lips, sipping the warm hazelnut-flavored beverage, eyes never leaving the screen - even when a small drop escaped the mug, staining a light-brown dot on the white long-sleeve blouse she used as nightwear.

It was her morning routine: wake up, make coffee for her and Serah, and watch the morning news before she went off to the Guardian Corps office. Though _usually_ she'd be fully dressed by now - or, at the very least, wearing pants. Today happened to be a lazy day, however. She was put on leave while Internal Affairs at GC investigated a recent shooting she'd been part of.

_ Not that there's anything to investigate. Some punk from out of town tried to rob a store I'd been shopping in. I warned him to leave, he pulled a weapon, and I shot him. Probably saved the shopkeeper's life, too._

It was just standard procedure for GC. Her supervisor told her to consider it use of the vacation time she hadn't used. Paid vacation time, at that.

A quiet rumbling passed through the house, and the soldier glanced out the window to her right, momentarily watching the looming cumulus clouds approaching. It wouldn't be long before that storm came. She turned her attention back to the news.

"...Reports of Cie'th in the major cities of Cocoon continue to increase, although little evidence has been found to substantiate these claims. Officials from the Guardian Corps ask that citizens of Cocoon remain calm. Officer Sanford had this to say:

'There has been no evidence - at all - to suggest that there are any Cie'th - Sanctum, Pulse, whatever - at all on Cocoon that aren't accounted for. I believe this is just a situation where scared citizens are jumping at shadows, which is why we must try to retain a level head during these trying times...' "

Lightning took another sip of her coffee, humming thoughtfully to herself. Cie'th, l'Cie, fal'Cie - it was all far above her pay grade. Maybe if she made officer she'd be more inclined to care - though it seemed even they had to deal with ghosts and tall tales of the boogeyman coming out at night. If getting an officer rank meant putting up with that PR nightmare, perhaps she'd rather stay on the beat, after all.

The story lasted a few more minutes before moving on, and Lightning was soon swishing the last drops of her coffee around in her mug. With a small sigh she got up from her comfortable position on the couch, stretching her legs and standing on her toes before walking over to get her second round of caffeine. The fingers from her empty hand ran over the grip of the gunblade that lay on the kitchen table as she passed it, the excess oils from her earlier cleaning still evaporating off of the surface of the weapon.

Lightning heard a light _thump, thump_ over the news coming from the hallway to the bedrooms and front door and Serah appeared moments later, her faded blue summer dress getting caught in a breeze coming from the open kitchen window. Her darker pink hair was tied in a side pony-tail, draped in front of her shoulder. She walked to the kitchen, her bright eyes regarding her sister with slight incredulity.

"I haven't seen you not dressed after eight since you joined GC, Light." She spoke softly, giving her older sibling a once over.

"Good morning to you, too." Lightning replied, eyes still focused on the coffee pot, taking care not to spill any of the superheated liquid on her hand. "I'm still on _paid vacation_." She grabbed another mug and filled it up, handing it to Serah.

"Right," Serah said, the faintest hint of a teasing tone coming on. "I suppose that explains why you're not wearing pants." She motioned to Lightning's waist before reaching for the fridge door. "Red's a good color for you."

Lightning sighed, closing her eyes and slightly shaking her head as she reached down and pulled her shirt farther over her exposed legs. "I'll keep that in mind." She said flatly. "What're you all gussied up for?"

"Spending the day with Snow," Serah replied cheerfully, earning a near-inaudible sigh from her sister. "He wants to go around town, enjoy the sunny weather-"

"It's going to rain."

"What?"

"Storm's coming in."

Serah let out an annoyed groan as she poured milk into her coffee. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Way I hear it," Lightning started, a small smile coming across her face as she passed her sister and started back towards the sofa. "it's going to be thunder and..._ Lightning_." As if on cue, the distant sound of rolling thunder once more breached the house, the windows lightly getting peppered with stray raindrops. She was rather fond of her namesake - especially when it resulted in the ruining of Serah's plans with Snow.

"Quit smiling. I can hear it in your voice." Serah called at her sister, causing a larger smile to form on Lightning's face. It wasn't that she hated Snow; he treated Serah well. But he was reckless and terribly irresponsible, and Lightning much preferred when he wasn't with her sister.

"Who's smiling?" Lightning said as she sat back on the couch, resuming her previous position, eyes resting back on the talking heads on television. "I'm just saying, it's going to-"

She was cut off by the sudden feeling of something being pushed onto her head. She instinctively ducked down, but by the time she'd reacted, she felt the headband already fixed tightly on her head, the band loosely threaded through her hair.

"Serah?" She asked, looking back behind the couch where her sister was standing, hands behind her back and a smirk telling Lightning everything she needed to know. With her left hand she felt the headband, noting two furry, triangular pieces coming off on the sides. It took her all of a second to realize what they were. "Cat ears, Serah? Really?" She continued to feel them, finding a bell at the bottom of the ear with a ribbon attached to it. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at her playful sibling. "Why?"

"It's very cute." Serah replied, tilting her head and offering a soft laugh. "It complements the red panties."

Lightning tried not to let the humor she felt show, shaking her head and resisting the urge to give her sister a well-deserved pinch.

This wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for their relationship; Lightning was often victim to her sister's attempts to get a rise out of her. Perhaps it was because Serah understood that Lightning's job was hard and serious, with little room for fun, and she wanted to see more than her tired, cold eyes after a hard day's work. Or maybe she just wanted to play with her sister and figured annoying the hell out of her was a good start.

It didn't usually work. Lightning was all about the job, and the serious demeanor that it required typically carried over into her domestic life. Maybe this forced leave was finally letting her relax a bit.

And maybe not. Lightning's eyes darted to the window behind Serah as the bush underneath it shook. Her eyes widened as she forced her coffee towards her sister, the military training dormant in her suddenly awakening. "There's someone sneaking around the house. Put this on the table and get to the kitchen." It took Serah a moment to realize her GC sister wasn't joking before doing as she said and making for the kitchen.

Lightning slid off the sofa, her eyes darting between windows as she sneaked out of the television room, pausing to reach down to the remote on the ground and muting the television.

The trained soldier glanced at her sister who was staring at her intently, her hands clasped and resting below her chin. She reached out, pointing towards the gunblade laying on the table and gave Serah a stiff nod, locating her old boots sitting behind the sofa. As she slid into them her sister picked up the weapon, trying her hardest not to make a sound as she walked over to Lightning and offered her the blade, still in it's gun form.

"Get in the hallway. Stay quiet." Lightning commanded as she accepted the weapon, readying it in her hands.

"Light," Serah whispered. "I think it's-"

"Just go." Lightning cut her off. A cool feeling washed over her as her right index finger found the gun's trigger. The cold metal contacted her forearms and sent a small shiver down her spine. Maybe the leave she was on did allow her some relaxation, but it didn't negate the fact that she'd shot and killed someone a few days ago - a fact that she was very much aware of; a fact that was helping to fill her muscles with adrenaline.

Lightning turned back toward the windows, regarding them carefully as she moved back to the sofa. She put her foot on the seat cushion she previously occupied and spun around, now sitting on the top of the headrest, looking down and out the window. The rain was beginning to pick up, but it was all clear. She scooted closer to the edge and rested her head on the glass, trying to see as far to the edge of the house as she could. Still nothing.

_Sounds coming from down the hallway. Heavy footsteps on cement. Stoop leading to front door._ Lightning spun her legs over the sofa and quickly went through the hallway, passing by a now slightly skeptical-looking Serah and reaching the front door seconds later. She pressed herself against the wall next to the doorknob, readying her left hand and squeezing the grip of the gun with her right.

"Wait, Light, It's probably just-" Serah started, no longer whispering, but was cut off as Lightning grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open, letting it smash against the wall as she pivoted around, gun up and ready to fire-

"Aiiiiie!"

-causing a very surprised, suddenly terrified Snow to jump back and away from the door, hands flailing and a scream escaping him. Lightning was surprised his voice pitch could get that high.

"Snow?" Lightning said, more of a statement than a question. It took her senses a moment to calm themselves. "Why are you sneaking around my house?"

"Well," Snow stammered, his eyes fixed to the barrel of Lightning's weapon. "I, uh... I mean... could you, you know..." The rain increased as a flash of lightning arced across the sky, a massive thunderclap reverberating through the house. Snow, starting to get soaked, continued. "The gun?"

She hadn't realized she still had the weapon fixed on him and quickly lowered it. When he remained silent, he motioned for him to continue, giving him a mild glare.

"Well, I wasn't sure if Serah would be up, so I figured I'd just peek through the windows to see..." He trailed off, his eyes moving over Lightning. "Light, uh... you're not wearing any pants. And you've got, um... cat ears..."

Lightning had forgotten that she was in a relative state of undress until now. Before she could reply, however, Serah forced her way in, nudging Lightning off to the side.

"Light! You almost shot Snow!" She yelled, reaching for her boyfriend's hand and pulling him inside.

"You ever hear of a phone, Snow?" Lightning responded, irritation starting to envelope her words. "They're good for, you know, checking to see if people are awake or not. That way you don't have to sneak around someone's house and get yourself shot."

Snow offered a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, right. Sorry. Why are you even home? I figured you'd be on patrol by now."

"My recent _shooting_ is being investigated by IA." She made sure she put emphasis on the word 'shooting'. Another flash of lightning went off in the distance. "I'm on leave."

"Oh... I, uh..." She could hear the realization that he picked the worst time to mess with the soldier come across his words. "I see. I guess that explains the pants."

Lightning rolled her eyes and let her gun drop to her side as she turned toward the hallway and began back to the table to retrieve her coffee. "Come on, Snow. I'm ready to go. I have an umbrella." She heard Serah say quietly. "We'll be back before dark, Light. Try not to shoot anyone else." She called, her sarcasm only partially hiding her amusement.

"But Light, hey, wait!" Snow yelled down the hallway, trying to get Lightning's attention.

The platinum-pink haired girl lifted her gunblade up and rested it on the table, clicking the safety back into place and grabbing her coffee mug. "What?" She called back to snow, walking back to the television room and pressing the volume button on the remote with her toe.

"What's with the cat ears?" Snow asked. As she slipped back onto the sofa for the third time, Lightning was about to respond with the truth but caught herself, deciding instead to have a little fun.

"I figured they complemented the panties." She called, trying to sound as serious as she could.

"What did she just say?" She heard Snow ask her sister in disbelief. Serah replied by stiffly pulling his arm out of the house. "Did she just say what I think she said? No, really..."

Serah reached back for the door, and with a sigh, shouted. "Goodbye, Light..."

"Toodles." Lightning replied, smiling. She wasn't particularly big on taking time off of work, but she did get to point a gun at her sister's annoying boyfriend, and as she pulled the silly cat ears off of her head, decided that maybe this little vacation wasn't too bad after all.


End file.
